Fire safety issue? Windows broken - can I be refunded?

[Rachel2250]

I recently rented a condo for one night. When we got there, the air conditioner had been off all week and it was 100 degrees outside and at least that inside. We tried to open some windows to get a breeze and every single window was broken. The handles you turn to open the windows were broken off completely. The back sliding door was also broken. It was on the third floor with an inside stairwell as the only way out. We had our baby with us. We felt uncomfortable and left after thinking about it for 20 minutes or so. I wouldn't even think this was legal to rent! The owner does not want to refund our money but I feel like this is a situation it should be refunded. Am I wrong?

[Huma0]

@Rachel2250 

I should think it's normal that the air conditioning was switched off while the property was not occupied. As long as you were able to turn it on when you arrived...

The window/door issue is more concerning. It might or might now count as a safety issue under Airbnb's guest refund policy. Were the broken locks and sliding doors mentioned on the listing? I am guessing not...

However, I am not sure how long ago this stay was (you only mention 'recently') so you may be too late already to claim under the refund policy, which states:

"To be eligible for rebooking assistance or a refund, the guest who made the reservation may submit a claim by contacting us. Claims must be made to us no later than 72 hours after discovery of the Travel Issue and supported by relevant evidence such as photographs or confirmation of the conditions by the Host. We will determine whether a Travel Issue has occurred by evaluating available evidence."

You are also normally asked to first contact the host and give them a chance to address the issue, which I am not sure you did, as you left after 20 minutes and then later asked the host for a refund. This might not be relevant if it was an issue that was not fixable, but technically, that is what you are supposed to do.